Author
Topic: Royal Guard [CLOSED] (Read 821 times)

Silica was yet again standing next to a landing platform, dressed in her business attire, holding in her hands a scroll with a list of students' names on it. This time, however, it wasn't Marvin who needed protection - it was Ms. Royale. Silica wasn't in the best mood - Beige had messaged her just this morning saying that she wouldn't be going to Beacon as she had to prepare for her opening speech at signal. With how concerned Marvin was with Beige's safety, her being there without any guards was upsetting, but the fact that she wouldn't be coming to Beacon had one single positive aspect - Silica could finally leave Beacon for a while. Thank god for that.

She looked over the list of students on her scroll one final time. Lyssa Andromiko, fourth year. Jima Purpora, third year. Amane Petrichor, first year. All three had shown to be quite capable as huntresses. After interviewing several applicants, Silica had contacted the Royales and decided on these girls together - Purpora for her observation skills and semblance; Amane for her ranged capability and adaptability; Lyssa for... Well. Beige seemed keen on meeting the girl after Silica had described her to the woman. She couldn't exactly figure out why, but, hey, they're going to Beige's bodyguards, not Silica's.

She pocketed her scroll and looked towards the school grounds. The students should arrive any minute - as should the airship which will be taking them to Signal.

Logged

Razzmatazz Gele - 2nd Year warrior of happiness of Team ____. "Oh, I also like ____! Let's be friends!"

Janna Tarmac - 1st Year tank lady of Team DGTL. "Our job is to protect the innocent, and that's what I do."

Reginald Royale - 1st year snotty brat of team RBLS. "I'm telling father about this!"

Rufus Chocla - 2nd year freestyle rapper of team APRC. "Rap comes from the Soul, don't mess with the Flow, if you can't take no more, don't wait for Encore!"

Jima spots her as her vision drifts upwards, keeping a careful eye over the landing platform as she approaches. She's dressed in her usual attire, with the Grab n Go's harness and all; all hidden under the familiar leather jacket. Watching from above, the third-year has Goliath hanging from a loop on her belt, and she makes herself clearly visible as she approaches the woman waiting at the dropship. No reason to scare the person you're supposed to be escorting - well, at least not yet. "Hello, ma'am? You must be Silica - I'm Jima Purpora, one of the students tasked with escorting Ms. Royale. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Despite her nonstandard for the escort, Jima's all professional, holding out one hand to shake Silica's - notably, her voice seems to be coming from somewhere over the third year's left shoulder.

Lyssa marched towards the pickup location, storming past a few people and earning dirty looks on the way. A morning spent arguing with her teammates, followed shortly after by another argument with her sister. Of course, it was all her fault, being a grumpy jerk and all. 'Why do I have to make my own life difficult?' It couldn't be that difficult to not be a shitbird for one day, and yet, she failed every time. For now, she simply wished to focus on her mission, hopefully to the point where she'd forget about the obnoxious start to the day.

These types of jobs were ones that she was more than familiar with. Her semblace, stature and strength all made for one hell of an effective bodyguard. That didn't usually matter however, as the bodyguard gigs she did manage to get almost always ended uneventfully. For once, it seemed like there was a chance this one would be different, though not for the better.

While she certainly wasn't much of a planner, Lyssa took each mission she was tasked with very seriously. Knowing even the littlest amount of info about an employer could make a big difference. It didn't take much research at all to find out what had gone down last time these 'Royales' hired students. Sure, the bunch made it out fine, but not without blood on their hands. If the Royales were worried about the same people attacking again, would these potential hostiles be equally willing to fight to their deaths to reach the target? In all of her years of fighting, not once had she been in a situation that required her to take a person's life. Hopefully, today wouldn't be the day. Maybe she was tough, but even she doubted her ability to handle that with ease.

'... My feelings about it don't matter.' If it came down to protecting someone else, she would do it, because that was her job. Why did she feel anxious at all, anyway? That wasn't normal. Everything today would go perfectly fine, and she'd be sent back to the Academy after the job was over feeling absolutely bored out of her mind. That was always how things turned out.

Drawing her attention away from her scattered thoughts and to the two individuals at the landing platform, Lyssa approached the duo. She almost looked overprepared, with two guns on her back, another two at her hips, and a tactical vest covering her torso. "Yo. I'm Lyssa. This is the right place, yeah?"

"Yup," Amane says, walking up from behind Lyssa and standing next to her. She looked about just as much prepared as Lyssa, with her backpack on her back, rifle slung over her shoulder, Desert Eagle holstered on the left side of her waist, explosive throwing stars and various utility grenades hanging from her belt, and her knife sheathed and strapped onto her right leg.

The company Amane worked at had asked her to take on this job and protect Ms. Royale, one of their valuable investors. She was more than happy to accept, because then she got to see Signal again, where everything started. She also remembers that she still had money hidden all over the school and is curious if its still there.

Having researched about the last mission regarding the Royales too, and despite the risks, Amane was determined to do the job well, and do it professionally. This didn't mean she had a few under-handed things planned though, but she would get to those when it came to it.

"Amane Petrichor, reporting in," she says to the people at the landing pad.

Silica looked up at the newcomers, shaking Jima's hand first. "Mm. Yeah, pleasure," the assistant said, noting the odd sound placement. She was aware of her semblance, but it was still a bit odd. She then looks towards the other two and nods. Despite not recognizing Amane's face, she recognizes the copious amounts of firepower the girl was carrying. That ought to be her. Mind you, Silica herself is not visibly armed - she looks like a somewhat plain businesswoman more than anything. "Yeah, this is the right place. Our ride should be here any minute now."

Just on cue, a small transport airship appears on the horizon. In no time flat, it's already landing in order to let the students get on. Noticeably, the airship itself has no personnel aboard it aside from the pilot - no guards, nothing.

"Just as a reminder, once we get there, you're not to let Beige out of your sight. She has a tendency to... Wander off during events like this, for one reason or another. The actual event begins in little over an hour, but she's already there, apparently. We'll have to hurry up with finding her once we land." Silica informs the group in a rather dry tone as they board the airship. If she was worried about Ms. Royale at all, her voice didn't express it.

Logged

Razzmatazz Gele - 2nd Year warrior of happiness of Team ____. "Oh, I also like ____! Let's be friends!"

Janna Tarmac - 1st Year tank lady of Team DGTL. "Our job is to protect the innocent, and that's what I do."

Reginald Royale - 1st year snotty brat of team RBLS. "I'm telling father about this!"

Rufus Chocla - 2nd year freestyle rapper of team APRC. "Rap comes from the Soul, don't mess with the Flow, if you can't take no more, don't wait for Encore!"

Jima nods to the other two students as they arrive, walking inside and plopping down on a seat inside the door. Compared to everyone else, she feels almost underprepared, with just Goliath and the Grab n' Go - but she really is there more for observation than action. Peaking into the cabin, into the cargo hold, into the - well, everything - she notices the lack of personnel, but doesn't say anything, instead opting to keep it to herself off the bat. Everything's obviously automated - maybe they want to keep her location on the down-low? "I should be able to keep an eye on her regardless to where she goes, providing she's in range. If we're planning on intercepting an attack, what exactly should we be expecting here?"

Lyssa followed the others on board the airship, taking a seat with a fair amount of distance from the others. Much like Amane, she sat there quietly. Jima had asked the same thing that she herself had been wondering, so she opted to wait and listen. Hopefully, such information wouldn't end up being necessafy, but being extra prepared was always the way to go.

"We can't be sure, but if lady Royale is attacked, it's likely to be by mercenaries. Whitaker hadn't gathered much more than common thugs when facing Marvin last time, but he had equipped them with weapons manufactured by the royale company," Silica answered Jima's question as she took a seat on the airship herself. She then produces G-12 from her jacket, a rather plain looking six shot revolver, and spun it in her hand.

"A lot of them were armed with this, for example - a weapon not available to anyone outside of the organization. Which is why we couldn't trust any of our guards for this - that's where you guys come in. If things go smoothly, great. If Beige is attacked, your main task will be escorting her back to this very same airship. We can expect the attackers not to be particularly skilled, but you shouldn't under any circumstances underestimate them. They had some formidable fighters among them last time."

As she finished speaking, the airship lifted off, beginning its somewhat short journey towards Signal. The pilot lets them know over the intercom that they should arrive in less than twenty minutes.

The group would notice that they were by no means the only ones arriving at this time - numerous other airships had already landed, several more coming in, most of them bringing in excited young students and their families, ready to hear the wise words of huntsmen and huntresses, both current and retired. As soon as the ship touched ground, the doors opened, Silica leading the way out onto the courtyard scroll in hand.

"Oh, lord... now to find Ms. Royale in this mess," Silica uttered, turning to face the students. " The event is taking place in the main auditorium. She might already be there, but just to be sure..."

Just as she was about to call the woman on her scroll, however, Silica jumped as a gentle hand brushed against her cheek from behind her. She spun around, face-to-face with a blonde woman in her late thirties. The woman, dressed in a flowing white gown with salmon colored ribbons falling from her shoulders and back, was stunningly beautiful - her golden hair falling past her shoulders, ending in curls which must have taken hours to get just right; her pale blue eyes seemed compassionate, her naturally long eyelashes accentuating them even further; her perfectly proportioned lips were slightly parted, revealing a smile full of pearl-white teeth. Beige Royale was almost infuriatingly perfect.

She laughed at Silica's reaction, stroking the younger woman's hair. "Hello to you as well, Silica! I'm glad you could make it," Beige said, then glanced past her assistant to get a better look at the girls behind her. "Ah, and you must be the students here to guard me! Beige Royale, a pleasure to meet you all!" She said, giving the group a slight curtsy.

Logged

Razzmatazz Gele - 2nd Year warrior of happiness of Team ____. "Oh, I also like ____! Let's be friends!"

Janna Tarmac - 1st Year tank lady of Team DGTL. "Our job is to protect the innocent, and that's what I do."

Reginald Royale - 1st year snotty brat of team RBLS. "I'm telling father about this!"

Rufus Chocla - 2nd year freestyle rapper of team APRC. "Rap comes from the Soul, don't mess with the Flow, if you can't take no more, don't wait for Encore!"

Mercenary fighters with strong ones among them, and apparently enough to cause serious trouble last time. Jima looks on as Silica displays the rifle with ardent curiosity, a slight tilt to her head. She and the other three students are the Lady Royale's escort, and simply need to return her to the ship if necessary. It's a simple enough mission in theory, but the simple ones always go sideways the quickest - especially depending on the capabilities of the Lady Royale herself.

Jima makes a silent note as to inquire about the woman's aura training and combat education, before smiling of all things at Silica's warning. Certainly things won't be boring.

Beige Royale is surprisingly... well, kind, for a woman of her stature. Jima willingly tucks her voice close to her mouth, deciding not to approach through the usual creepier route, and takes it upon herself to return the curtsy with her own slight bow. "It's quite as well returned, Ms. Royale. I hope we can serve you well."

Stepping out as the ship's doors opened, Lyssa took a good look at the school before sighing. While it was slightly nostalgic, being back here filled her with plenty of regret. All that time spent training day and night, and not a minute of it trying to enjoy her childhood while it lasted. Thinking back on it, she hadn't really missed this place all that much.

Her attention was brought back to the group when Beige made her sudden entrance. Lyssa couldn't help but let out a short whistle when her eyes landed on the woman, taken off guard by her majestic appearance. 'Rich people sure are something else.' As tempting as it was to say it aloud, she had already acted unprofessionally enough for the moment.

"Happy to assist you, ma'am." She gave Beige a confident smile and a nod, her hand lightly tapping the handle of one of her revolvers. "Nobody's gettin' through us."

Silica squinted at Amane, clutching her scroll. "Hey, you guys are not to leave her alone for anything. If she's atta-"

"Now, now, Silica, I'm sure that they know what they're doing. If you think it'll help, you can go. We'll be in the main auditorium - Silica, you should tag along with her so that she can get backstage without issues," Ms. Royale said, smiling at the woman. She then turned to the group again.

"My apologies, but what are your names? I don't want to just be calling you 'guards' or anything."

By now the crowd would clearly be moving towards one of the larger buildings on campus. There were plenty of guards among them - clearly, the Royales weren't the only ones worried about security during the event. Nobody really stood out in the crowd, with few people carrying anything that could resemble a weapon. Those who did seemed to be huntsmen - to call them suspicious wouldn't be apt.

Logged

Razzmatazz Gele - 2nd Year warrior of happiness of Team ____. "Oh, I also like ____! Let's be friends!"

Janna Tarmac - 1st Year tank lady of Team DGTL. "Our job is to protect the innocent, and that's what I do."

Reginald Royale - 1st year snotty brat of team RBLS. "I'm telling father about this!"

Rufus Chocla - 2nd year freestyle rapper of team APRC. "Rap comes from the Soul, don't mess with the Flow, if you can't take no more, don't wait for Encore!"

"I'm Lyssa," the tall woman answered briefly, her attention partially divided as her eyes moved between individuals in the crowd. The chances of an attack at this very moment were much slimmer than if the speech had already begun. Despite that, she felt the need to stay alert. The large amount of security present in addition to this bunch of students almost seemed like overkill... Perhaps that was for the best, but it didn't make her feel at ease, as the organizers of the event were clearly overly concerned about safety. Picking out any threats here would be difficult for sure. Nobody looked like murderous mercenaries here. As long as she had a couple seconds to react, she was confident in her ability to protect Ms. Royale, though there was no guarantee she would get that kind of time.

"Alright, awesome." Amane says and then walks away, calling out, "Thanks for the ride miss!" Looking like just a visitor from Beacon, she takes out her scroll and snaps a few pictures of the crowd and the guards, sending them to an acquaintance with the attached message, 'please run facial recog through criminal db'. Putting her scroll back, she starts analyzing everybody for suspects including the guards, studying everything such as their body language, the weapons they are carrying, and the weapons they may be carrying concealed due to their body language.